Mom is 93, in NH. Dementia, in wheelchair and blind. Luckily she tells me she’s very happy, loves to sing, still has a good sense of humor, eats & drinks pretty well. When she’s awake. They get her up for all meals, so she’s out of bed probably 9 hours a day, but naps in her wheelchair a lot. The issue is she’s always complaining of how tired she is. “Why am I so tired? I don’t want to be tired, what’s the matter with me?” She can just wake up from a nap, and immediately say she’s tired. It’s almost constant and it’s getting harder to keep her awake during meals, which is bad. I see other residents napping a lot, which I understand, but no one complains about it constantly like she does. She sleeps ok at night but does wake up sporadically.
My question is about her meds. She is on 200 mg gabapentin and 50 mg of tramadol at night, and 1000 mg Tylenol 3x a day for her arthritis. When I bring up her tiredness to her NP, she brushes it off that they are low doses and “she’s 93”. But I have a nagging feeling that her gabapentin and tramadol may be factors and I’d like her to reduce the dosages. Does anyone have experience with those meds? Should I insist on trying to reduce one or the other? Or is the NP right and this is just how it is?
I guess the question is, is the Gabapentin and Tramadol helping her? Weigh the pros & cons, you know? In any event, best of luck!!!
Is her pain under control with these meds? It could be a balancing act between pain and sleepiness. Maybe you could work with the doc to cut back a little on one of the meds and observe her reaction closely to see how the pain and sleepiness react to the change.
See a more conservative geriatrician. imo.
But yes, she is 93. Her body is tired. Also the less physical activity someone does will make them tired as they have a low energy level from not doing anything.
Gabapentin can cause sleepiness. But you must weigh the good with the bad at that age. If the gabapentin is working to treat her pain, usually nerve pain from a neuropathy, and she is sleepy as a result then so be it. Just assure she doesn’t try to get up unattended.
She is prescribed the gabapentin and tramadol for a reason. Can you tell us why?
in the past year, my 95+ year old mom began falling into deep sleep modes where we can't wake her and her meds for agitation have been reduced twice to a very low dose and I'm considering asking to have it stopped all together
age, dementia and being immobile are enough to cause drowsiness